Couplers for connecting railway cars and locomotives together into trains are well known to those knowledgeable in the mechanical arts. The earliest couplers were simple iron chains hung between hooks attached to the ends of railway cars. Cars and locomotives using this very simple system required separate coil spring bumpers projecting from their corners to absorb the shock of impacting each other to prevent damage whenever the train stopped or slowed down. Modern Janney-type couplers, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,733 to Gagliardino, a variation on the Type E coupler standard on American railways since 1932, perform both the connecting and shock absorbing functions. These have a pivotal vertical knuckle adapted to engage an identical vertical knuckle on an adjacent coupler so that when the couplers are brought into contact with each other, the two knuckles are pivoted into an interlocking engaging position. The use of oil and gas filled shock absorbers to cushion the impact when cars contact each other is also well known to those knowledgeable in the art, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,303 to Hodges.
Gagliardino teaches that to permit a railway train to safely negotiate curves in the tracks, the couplers are pivotally connected to the railway car so that, pursuant to an American Association of Railways specification, each coupler can pivot 13 degrees in a horizontal plane to either side of the longitudinal center line of the car. Therefore, to join a pair of railway cars together, it may be necessary to pivot the couplers so that they are generally aligned and directly opposed to each other. While proper straight alignment may naturally result when a pair of cars are uncoupled while on a length of straight track, there are times when they are not properly aligned for joining. For example, when a pair of cars are uncoupled while on a curved track, the couplers will not normally extend perpendicularly from the end of the railway car, making proper coupling impossible when they are later moved onto a straight track. Similarly, there are times when railway cars to be coupled together are on a length of curved track, and the coupler shanks are oriented perpendicularly from the ends of the car to be joined rather than pivoting toward each other 13 degrees for proper joining. Accordingly, it may be necessary for a conductor or trainman to manually position the couplers by pushing or pulling them into proper alignment before the cars can successfully be joined by manually moving the couplers into alignment. If attempts to join a pair of railway cars are made when the couplers are not properly aligned, the impact of misaligned couplers may cause damage to one or both couplers.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,101, Blute teaches that highway truck trailers can be coupled together to form trains using a horizontally oriented V shaped member, such as found on 5th wheel turntables of highway truck tractors. These usually include a U shaped jaw that pivots around a vertically oriented pin, such as the kingpin found on highway truck semi-trailers. The V shaped member does not need to be in perfect alignment with the pin for successful coupling.
Statement of the Problem:
Advancements in transport refrigeration, hazardous material cargo monitoring, railway vehicle braking and control systems, and even national security requirements to prevent terrorism, have created a need for additional connections between railway cars such as compressed air hoses to power brakes and electrical cables to power refrigeration units, monitor access doors, or transmit data from temperature sensors. Electrically controlled anti-lock brakes, for instance, will allow railway trains to stop in a shorter distance without wearing flat spots on their steel wheels. Temperature sensors connected to the wheels will be able to detect hot wheel bearings and other potentially catastrophic maintenance problems before they occur, even on unmanned remote control trains. Because no provision for these additional fluid and electrical connections is included in existing railway car couplers, considerable manual labor is involved in attaching these additional wires and hoses and again in disconnecting them when cars are to be separated from a train. It is desired to provide a coupler that incorporates additional fluid and electrical connections and can also be operated remotely without manual adjustment or control.
It is well known in the art that fluid and electrical connectors, unlike railway couplers which are designed to be identical at each end of a railway car, work best when they are asymmetrical, such as a male plug that fits inside a female socket, or a female hose that fits over the end of a male spigot. Male to male electrical connections, such as between the pantograph of an electric trolley and overhead wires, are prone to arcing and other short circuits that are extremely destructive to computer microprocessors. Similarly, female to female fluid connections, such as the twist together glad hand connectors presently used for coupling railway car air brake hoses, are prone to leaks and require inspection, as well as manual adjustment and control. It is therefore further desired to provide a coupler having both male and female parts such that each end of a railway car can be selectively made male or female as the need arises and that both ends of a railway vehicle will be identical despite having asymmetrical parts.
Advancements in intermodal technology have made it feasible to remove railway cars from the tracks for the purpose of loading, unloading, or transport by means other than rail. Existing couplers and connectors are often very heavy and protrude from the ends of railway cars making it difficult for cranes and intermodal vehicles to lift the cars on and off the tracks. Protruding couplers take up excessive amounts of space when railway cars are placed close together on ships and barges. It is further desired to provide a coupler capable of being retracted within the body of the railway vehicle to minimize space when transported away from the railway tracks, yet will be compatible with older railway couplers already in use.
In application Ser. No. 10/696,366, I disclosed a coupler for intermodal rail vehicles having increased facility to be automatically coupled and uncoupled when an intermodal vehicle is placed upon or lifted off of railway tracks. It is therefore also further desired to provide a coupler compatible with both the Automatic Intermodal Railway Car Coupler disclosed in application Ser. No. 10/696,366 as well as older Janney type couplers.